Saturday, June 23, 2007

As I read the article from BP today concerning the resignation of Dwight McKissic as a trustee of SWBTS, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=25958, I began to ponder. Ponder what you might be asking. I began and continue to ponder what the "spin" will be.

"Spin" seems to be the prefered method from some of the bloggers who have aligned themselves with Wade Burleson and Ben Cole. (At least it is "spin" from my perspective.)

I believe the events of the SBC this year, "deflated" the efforts and agenda of those who are trying to lead the SBC in a direction, that to me, is very anti-southern baptist and unbiblical. I talked with my father, who is a SB pastor as well as my grandfather also a baptist preacher. They seemed to be of the opinion that every 25 years or so, there is a group who tries to influence the SBC with charismatic theology and methodology. I am a firm believer that the "battle for the Bible" will never end.

I am of this opinion for one simple reason. It is the main weapon of our enemy to attack the Word of God. He first used this method in the Garden with Eve. He attacked the Word and won the battle. Adam and Eve fell into sin, and were cast out of the Garden. Satan has found this such a useful method of defeating and distracting us that he continues to use it with great success. As SB's we firmly stand on the Word of God. It is inspired,inerrant and infallible. But it is easy for us to become distracted by discussions and practices that are unbiblical, PPL, and or misunderstood, other charismatic methods and theology.

I pray that God will give us discernment to see these distractions and the discipline to continue to fulfill the Great Commission. God bless you as you spread the "good news" of Jesus.

Friday, June 15, 2007

The Southern Baptist Convention was in San Antonio, TX this year. The convention went well, but the interpretation of the votes of the SBC are being debated on blogs even as I type this blog. There are those who are of the same mind as I who feel that the SBC was great. It seems that we were able to help protect the SBC from another group who has a very different opinion of the SBC.

The election of officers went well. The most interesting vote for officers was for 1st VP. Jim Richards was one of the candidates, and David Rogers was the other nominee. Jim Richards won the vote 68% to 32%. In my opinion that was a great victory and a great relief. (David is the late Adrian Rogers son, but he does not hold the same views as his father; and "that is all I have to say about that.")

There was another controversial vote at the SBC. The vote was on a statement made by the Executive Committee of the SBC. It was a general statement concerning the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The statement says that the BF&M is a "guide" for trustees of SBC entities. The debate was over what exactly "guide" means. Those who think along the lines of IMB trustee Wade Burleson and his cohort Ben Cole believe that the EC's statement means that the BF&M 2000 is the maximum guide, meaning that trustees can't hold any further standards for professors, employees, etc... without as Burleson says "getting permission from the SBC.

I believe, as do many other SB, that the BF&M 2000 is the foundational, minimal statement of faith for all SB and their entities. There are several other statements of faith, like the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, the Danvers Statement, and the Abstract of Principles, which are used in a complementary fashion with the BF&M 2000 that further clarify and define what we as SB have believed for hundreds of years.

The vote at the SBC was 57% to 43% in favor of the statement by the EC. One side says that everyone voting had a clear understanding of what was being voted on, and yet they did everything they could to end the discussion ASAP. While leaving the convention hall after the vote I heard many people talking who were very confused, saying, "Didn't we just reaffirm the BF&M 2000, that's all we did, right?" I had the "displeasure" of telling them that I was afraid that was not what happened at all. I was almost immediately proven right when Burleson and Cole and others began blogging that Dr. Mohler and Dr. Akin and others would now have to get permission from the SBC before they could continue using statements of faith in addition to the BF&M 2000. (I believe that this issue will be addressed again at the next SBC, and for years to come.) It is amazing that Wade and his cohorts all talk about widening the tent of acceptance and tolerance in the SBC, but want to exclude any other statements of faith which help us as SB understand what we believe and why we believe it.

Please pray that God will lead us very clearly in these areas of great concern. Pray that God will demonstrate to us what His plans are. Pray that we will all have the discernment to obey Him.

I will say, in closing, that I have a blast serving up Dr. Mohler on Wednesday morning. You should be able to go to http://www.sbc.net/ and see video of all the sessions of the SBC. Dr. Mohler, you did a great job responding to the questions about the EC's statement, as did several other seminary presidents. I am proud to have you all as leaders in our convention. May God bless you as you lead in the training of the future leaders of our churches.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Today has been a great day. We returned to Tegucigalpa last night, had supper and went to bed. We had a wonderful day of sight-seeing. We took a beautiful ride to this little Honduran village in the mountains to shop. (I think the women were pleased.) We got back to the hotel about 4 PM. I took a short nap, and then it was back out again for supper. We were treated to an amazing meal at a local mexican restuarant. They brought out enough food for 40 people, not an exageration, and we did our best to eat it, but barely put a dent in it. We boxed up the rest to distribute to the needy.

We had a tremendous team meeting tonight. I asked everyone to share the most important thing God has shoen them or taught them this week. It was great for me to hear each member of the team express what God has been doing in them. I can't wait for them to share this Jesus adventure with you. What a "Great Adventure" this trip has been. I pray that you will allow God to bless you on one of these exciting short term mission trips in the near future. You will never regret it for one minute.

I am sitting in the lobby alone; I think everyone has gone upstairs to pack and get to sleep. That sounds like a pretty good idea. We are flying out of Honduras at 3:30 EST. We should arrive in Miami at 5:30 EST. Our flight into Jacksonville should land about 10:30 EST. Sunday morning will be an awesome service. Each member of the team will be given an opportunity to share with the church about the trip. I pray it is contagious. God bless you.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

God has been so good to us while we have been here serving in Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras. The community we worked in was called Soldadidad. God has done an amazing work. As I stated in a previous post, 12 people accepted Christ on Sunday night. 25 children accepted Christ Tuesday afternoon, and 12-15 people accepted Christ in the service last night. It was amazing to see God work.

But it has been amazing to see God working in the lives of those on the team. I believe that eternity will be different because of what God has been up to.

The lights in the church are working, as are the ceiling fans that were purchased with the money that was given for the trip. The members of the church were so greatful and thankful for all that was done for them in the name of Jesus. They asked us to come back, and assured us that we now have a church in Honduras that is praying for HGBC. God is definitely doing something that will be beyond imagination.

One of the possibilities is that I have been invited to bring a team to teach the pastors of Honduras during their annual national meeting. I pray that God will honor this request and allow a team to be put together.

I want to close by encouraging to come see what God is doing for yourself.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Thank you for your prayers for the Sunday evening service. It was a great time. Tyler Reeves, from SC, and my sister Mauri sang and I preached. The most important thing is God worked. And because He worked, 12 people are now adopted into the family of God. If you are a Christian, you have 12 new brothers and sisters, and they live in Honduras. How great is our God!!!

We serve an amazing God. He has been so good to us today. Everywhere you look you can see His hand. We are doing two types of ministry this week, besides the service we are participating in and the food ministry we did yesterday afternoon before the evening service. We are doing construction work and carnival.

The construction work is finishing the electrical work for the church. Dave, Jeff, and Mike with the help of some less educated in the art of electricity finished recepticals, hung ceiling fans, and light fixtures. Several will be going back tomorrow to complete the work.

This church basically is a block building with a roof and two doors. The dogs walk in as they please, as well as wasps and any other flying bug you can imagine. But the Spirit of God is in this place and it is a sweet time of worship when He shows up. The children are everywhere, but it is all good. (You are missing the time of your life if you didn't come on this trip. I pray that you will come the next time there is an opportunity, like January hopefully. More info on that later.) When we leave these people will have lights to help them see as they worship in one of three service held during the week at night: Sunday night, Tuesday night and Thursday night. They also have a Sunday morning service. (And you think we have church to much.) They will have fans in the building to help the air circulate while they worship. What a blessing it is to be a resource for God to use, and I thank you for all you have done to help us have the money to minister in this way. May God bless you as you have blessed others.

The other ministry is geared to the children. Today we saw over 120 kids come to play with us. What a great time we had. We are sunburned, tired and sore, but we are ready to do it all over again tomorrow. You see that is the attitude a person has when they are "allowing Jesus to live all over again" through them. These people are seeing Jesus up close and personal, in the flesh. And they are seeing Him because we are here. Are they seeing Him where you are?

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Saturday was a great day. We traveled to the town of Olancho where we will be minstering until Wednesday. It was a 4.5 hour bus ride, but everything went well. We arrived safely, ate well, and went to a service at the church we are partnering with. Eric Rendell, one of my deacons, shared a great testimony and I shared a greating from HGBC. We were looking forward to getting to work Sunday.

Today we went to Sunday School. Dave Thurman, Mike Griggs, Melissa M., Renee, and several others helped or taught classes. We were all in the same room, so it was somehwat interesting to say the least, but God is good and he is in control. What an amazing God he is. After lunch, we made food bags, about 100. There is enough food to feed a family for at least a week in each bag. We are going to go door to door giving the food to families who live in the community of the church. We are going to share the gospel and invite them to the service tonight. Tyler Reeves, from SC, will be singing, someone will share a testimony and I will preach.

I am going to use Philippians 1:27 as my text. It says, "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ..." Our conduct is to match our conversation and attitude, and for the Christian that means living the life of Christ. God help us all to allow Jesus to live all over again through us every day you bless us with on this earth.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Thanks for your prayers today as we traveled. Both legs of the flight went very well. No one had any trouble getting through customs, praise the Lord. Please pray for us this week: Pray that we will allow Jesus to live all over again, pray that we will surrender our plans and desires for this trip so that God can give us and show us what He desires and has planned for us, pray that there will be great unity and servanthood in our hearts, pray that we will love others as we have been loved by Christ.

I will try to update the blog every day, if there is internet access. God bless you.

My heart is filled with excitement and anticipation. It is 10 PM on Thursday night. Melissa and I and 11 others from HGBC will be boarding a plane in the morning to begin a fabulous spiritual journey. My sister, her husband, and a teenager from SC will be meeting us in Miami and working with us in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Pray for us! Pray that we will all stay healthy while there and after we return. Pray that God will move in the hearts and lives of the native Hondurans, and in our hearts as well. I believe that HGBC will never again be the same because of this journey. God make it so.

Ministry Fair HGBC

Gone Fishin!

Turkeys Gone Wild

Paul Daily, Morgan and I

Horse Whisperer Event

About Me

I am 38 years old, married to Melissa, father of Morgan and Mya, and the pastor of Highland Baptist Church. I am a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I am currently enrolled in the DMin program at SEBTS. I love Jesus with all my heart. I am also a huge University of Florida fan. Go GATORS!